Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T14:00:14.447Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dormancy in white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench.] Voss.) seeds is imposed by tissues surrounding the embryo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

Bruce Downie  and
J. Derek Bewley
Bruce Downie*
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
J. Derek Bewley
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
*
*Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The germination of intact, moist-chilled white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench.] Voss.) seeds and liquid–nitrogen–decoated (LN2), unchilled seeds is significantly more than of intact, unchilled seeds and intact, unchilled seeds exposed to LN2. The testa is largely responsible for imposition of dormancy in these seeds, although the megagametophyte and/or nucellus also play a role. One or both of these tissues undergoes significant weakening during moist chilling. Excised embryos from dormant and nondormant white spruce seeds elongate when placed on solid Murashige and Skoog minimal organics medium supplemented with a carbon source (sucrose, glucose or galactose), but elongate very little on medium without sugar. They are not killed by rapid imbibition on unsupplemented media. Thus, embryos of white spruce do not exhibit innate dormancy, but are dependent on a carbon source for elongation, and have dormancy imposed on them by their surrounding structures.

Keywords

Seed dormancytestapuncture forcewhite sprucePicea glaucaconifer
Type
Physiology and Biochemistry
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 1996 , pp. 9 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

1

Present address: Dept. Of Vegetable Crops, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

References

Allen, G.S. (1958) Factors affecting the viability and germination behaviour of coniferous seed. Part III: Commercial processing and treatments similar to processing, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, and other species. Forestry Chronicle 34, 283–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asakawa, S. (1956) On the water absorption by Pinus koraiensis seeds. Journal of the Japanese Forestry Society 38, 125–129.Google Scholar
Barnett, J.P. (1972) Seedcoat influences dormancy of loblolly pine seeds. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 2, 7–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnett, J.P. (1976) Delayed germination of southern pine seeds related to seed coat constraint. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 6, 504–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baron, F.J. (1978) Moisture and temperature in relation to seed structure and germination of sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana Dougl.). American Journal of Botany 65, 804–810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berlyn, G.P. and Miksche, J.P. (1965) Growth of excised pine embryos and the role of the cotyledons during germination in vitro. American Journal of Botany 52, 730–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bogorad, L. (1950) Factors associated with the synthesis of chlorophyll in the dark in seedlings of Pinus jeffreyi. Botanical Gazette 111, 221–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyer, J.N., Duba, S.E. and South, D.B. (1987) Emergence timing affects root-collar diameter and mortality in loblolly pine seedbeds. New Forests 1, 135–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, C.L. and Gifford, E.M. Jr. (1958) The relation of the cotyledons to root development of pine embryos grown in vitro. Plant Physiology 33, 57–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caron, G.E., Wang, B.S.P. and Schooley, H.O. (1990) Effect of tree spacing, cone storage, and prechilling on germination of Picea glauca seed. Forestry Chronicle 66, 388–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caron, G.E., Wang, B.S.P. and Schooley, H.O. (1993) Variation in Picea glauca seed germination associated with the year of cone collection. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 23, 1306–1313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downie, B. (1994) Sugar content and endo-beta-mannanase activity during germination of white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench.] Voss.) seeds. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.Google Scholar
Edwards, D.G.W. (1986) Special prechilling techniques for tree seeds. Journal of Seed Technology 10, 151–171.Google Scholar
Edwards, D.G.W. and El-Kassaby, Y.A. (1988) Effect of flowering phenology, date of cone collection, cone-storage treatment and seed pretreatment on yield and germination of seeds from a Douglas-fir seed orchard. Forest Ecology and Management 25, 17–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engvild, K.C. (1964) Growth and chlorophyll formation of dark-grown pine embryos on different media. Physiologia Plantarum 17, 866–874.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, N. (1990) The 10 most common statistical errors. Ecological Society of America Bulletin 71, 161–164.Google Scholar
Goo, M. (1965) Relation of seed-coat, light and stratification on the germination of Pinus densiflora seeds. Miscellaneous Information Tokyo–University of Forestry No. 59, 18 pp.Google Scholar
Graeme, P.B. and Miksche, J.P. (1965) Growth of excised pine embryos and the role of the cotyledons during germination in vitro. American Journal of Botany 52: 730–736.Google Scholar
Groot, A. (1985) Application of germination inhibitors in organic solvents to conifer seeds. Information Report O-X-371, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, 14 pp.Google Scholar
Groot, S.P.C. and Karssen, C.M. (1987) Gibberellins regulate seed germination in tomato by endosperm weakening: a study with gibberellin-deficient mutants. Planta 171, 525–531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grover, R. (1962) Effect of gibberellic acid on seed germination of elm, Scotch pine, Colorado and white spruce. Forest Science 8, 187–190.Google Scholar
Gunia, S. and Simak, M. (1968) Effect of damaging resin vesicles in the seed coat on the germination of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) seeds, pp 79–83 in Proceedings of the International Symposium on Seed Physiology of Woody Plants. Kornik, Poland, Institute of Dendrology and Kornik Arboretum, Polish Academy of Sciences.Google Scholar
Hoff, R.J. (1987) Dormancy in Pinus monticola seed related to stratification time, seed coat, and genetics. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 17, 294–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huss, E. (1950) Om avvingningsskador pà skogsfrö. (On de-winging damage to forest seeds). Meddlanden fràn Statens Skogsforskningsinstitut. 39, 56 pp.Google Scholar
Huss, E. (1956) Om barrskogsfröets kvalitet och andra pà sàddresultatet inverkande faktorer. (On the quality of coniferous forest seed and other factors affecting the sowing result.) Meddelanden Fràn Statens Skogsforskningsinstitut. No. 46, 59 pp.Google Scholar
ISTA (1993) International rules for seed testing 1993. Seed Science and Technology 21, Supplement, 288 pp.Google Scholar
Khalil, M.A.K. (1986) Variation in seed quality and some juvenile characters of white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss). Silvae Genetica 35, 2–3.Google Scholar
Kozlowski, T.T. (1971) Seed germination, ontogeny, and shoot growth. in Kozlowski, T.T. (Ed.) Growth and development of trees. Vol. 1, New York, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Kozlowski, T.T. and Gentile, A.C. (1959) Influence of the seed coat on germination, water absorption, and oxygen uptake of eastern white pine seed. Forest Science 5, 389–395.Google Scholar
Lantheaume, F. and Tremblay, F.M. (1993) Rôle des téguments et du gamétophyte sur la germination des graines d'épinette noire (Picea mariana) Mill. pp 399–404 in Côme, D. and Corbineau, F. (Eds) Fourth international workshop on seeds. Basic and applied aspects of seed biology, Angers, France.Google Scholar
Li, X.J., Burton, P.J. and Leadem, C.L. (1994) Interactive effects of light and stratification on the germination of some British Columbia conifers. Canadian Journal of Botany 72, 1635–1646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lock, W., Sutherland, J.R. and Sluggett, L.J. (1975) Fungicide treatment of seeds for dampening-off control in British Columbia forest nurseries. Tree Planters’ Notes 26, 16–18, 28.Google Scholar
Main, E.L., Pharr, D.M., Huber, S.C. and Moreland, D.E. (1983) Control of galactosyl-sugar metabolism in relation to rate of germination. Physiologia Plantarum 59, 387–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinez-Honduvilla, C.J. and Santos-Ruiz, A. (1978) Germination inhibitors in the pine seed coat. Planta 141, 141–144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murashige, T. and Skoog, F. (1962) A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue culture. Physiologia Plantarum 15, 473–497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sacher, J.A. (1956) Observations on pine embryos grown in vitro. Botanical Gazette 117, 206–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, S. and Kozlowski, T.T. (1969) Utilization of seed reserves and currently produced photosynthates by embryonic tissues of pine seedlings. Annals of Botany 33, 473–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, W.L. and Gifford, D.J. (1994) Loblolly pine seed dormancy. I. The relationship between protein synthesis and the loss of dormancy. Physiologia Plantarum 90, 246–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems, Inc. (1985) SAS Institute Inc. Box 8000, Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
St. Clair, J.B. and Adams, W.T. (1993) Family composition of Douglas-fir nursery stock as influenced by seed characters, mortality, and culling practices. New Forests 7, 319–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stearns, F. and Olson, J. (1958) Interactions of photoperiod and temperature affecting seed germination in Tsuga canadensis. American Journal of Botany 45, 53–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, E.C. (1957) Embryo dormancy of Pinus jeffreyi Murr. seed as affected by temperature, water uptake, stratification, and seed coat. Plant Physiology 32, 93–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomson, A.J. and El-Kassaby, Y.A. (1993) Interpretation of seed-germination parameters. New Forests 7, 123–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, M.A., and Arnott, H.J. (1982) Cell wall conformation in dry seeds in relation to the preservation of structural integrity during desiccation. American Journal of Botany 69, 1657–1668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar